The daily herald. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1886-1887, 1887-03-21
MONDAY, MARCH al, 1887
PILIKIA IN SUGAR.

climate. And there is some reason to
think that the adsge may be quoted
commercially as well as meteorologic
ally to tie Hawaiian staple industry.
The rains of adversely have fallen dur
ing the past few years on the sugar
trade so thick and fast as almost to
Offset the benefit of the natural liquid
element upon the cane fields. Ha-
waiian sugar has had beet sugar in
Europe and America, together with
cheap labor in Manila, the West
Indies and the Southern States to con-
tend against, and now it appears that
our planters are to be called on to
fight the coal mines which, so far as
biologists have been able to decide,
are practically inexhaustible.
A chemist in the February number
Of CHam6eyS journal tells US that sac
charine extracted from coal tar out
sugars cane sugar both in the cheap
ness with which it can be produced
and in its superior qualities as a sweet
ening agent 1t is described as a white
crystalline powder, easily soluble in
warm water, and possessing two hun
bred and thirty times the sweetening
power of the best cane or beetroot
sugar. One part of it in ten thousand
parts of water gives it a perceptibly
sweet taste, The substance is chem
ically named dextre-saccharne. Add
ing one part Of this saccharine to from
1000 to 1900 parts glucose, the pro-
duct is said to be scarcely distinguish
able from ordinary sugar. The bitterest
quinine solution or acid drink is rem.
dered so sweet by small quantity Of
it that not the least trace Of bitterness
or acldity is left. In small quantities
it has no injurious effects upon the
human system, and it may be used
with IMMUNITY by persons suffering
from maladies which are injuriously
affected by other sugars. 1t is prepared
from constituent of coal.tar called
toluene. The toluene is put through
series of chemical processes, in which
it is operated on by sulphuric acid,
chalk, filtration, carbonate of soda,
phosphoric pentachloride, solid am
monidm carbonate, permanganate of
potash and dilute mineral acids, for.
midable array Of big-named prepare
tons, after going through which some
thing wonderful ought to result.
The discoverer Of this strange pro-
duct was DIR. Constantine Fahlberg,
and the discovery was accidental
The doctor had been experiment
ing upon compound radicals and
substitution products of coal tar
and coming to the supper table in
haste without washing his hands, he
caught the first taste from goblet he
had handled, and describes it as one
of unspeakable sweetness. 1t appears
that he lost his supper by the excite.
ment into which he was thrown, for he
reached back to the Laboratory and
tasted so many Of the decoctions with
which he had been working that he
afterwards was thankful that none o.
them happened to be poisonous.
Should the manufacture of saccha
rine be developed into a permanent in
dustrN it may become dangerou.
rival to the cane raising business, a.
coal tar is produced in immense guam
titles in gas works, 1t has in fact beer
nuisance in those establishments
and various experiments have beer
suggested and tried to enable manu-
facturers to get the gas out of coal with
out having SO much Of the tar to make
room for and to get out of their way
There is at least this consolation in tn,
prospect; electricity and cheap kero
sene are threatening in many places tn,
humiliation of the gas works.
We regret to hear that DIR. Brodi,
wac VERY IN yactarda,,